


Hidden depths

by writer171105



Series: Hidden Depths [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dick Grayson-centric, F/M, He gets one from Babs :-), Metahuman Dick Grayson, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Young Justice Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:33:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29248077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writer171105/pseuds/writer171105
Summary: The alien looked at him pityingly, which only added to the dread already rising in his stomach."I'm sorry you feel that way," the scientist apologized, "but I'm afraid there is nothing we can do. It has already been activated."*I own nothing but the plot. All images used are not mine.*
Relationships: Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Members of the Team (Young Justice), Graybat - Relationship, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson
Series: Hidden Depths [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2197266
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I know I still need to finish my other docs, but I posted this summary on Wattpad for some feedback, and there were a lot of requests to actually write it so I did. Hope you enjoy 🥰

**Prologue**

Nightwing awoke to find several alien faces staring in at him through the glass pod. Not the most _pleasant_ sight for a Sunday afternoon. He recovered himself and glared at them.

“What do you want from me?”

The aliens seemed surprised at his choice of question. What else did they expect him to say? _‘Let’s go grab some coffee?’_

The one alien, a Reach member,seemed almost to smile slightly.

“Ah, I see the subject has awoken.”

“I am no one’s _subject_ ,” Dick spat, infuriated by his situation. Although they had, _stupidly_ , left him with his belt, he needed to be alone before he could break free.

The alien’s grin widened.

“A fighter,” he stated, “This is good, considering the circumstances.”

“What _circumstances_?” Dick asked, suspiciously, hoping that his hunch wasn’t right. Because the Reach only kidnapped two types of people: The ones with a metagene already developed, and those with the potential to develop one.

The scientist became serious.

“You are a very lucky man, my friend. You have been gifted with a metagene that most humans would kill for.”

Dick did his best to hide his shock, from the fact that he even _had_ a metagene, and that people would _kill_ for it.

“I don’t want it,” he spoke, firmly.

The alien looked at him pityingly, which only added to the dread already rising in his stomach.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” the scientist apologised, “but I’m afraid there is nothing I can do. It has already been activated.”

Dick’s blood ran cold as his heart-rate increased and it became difficult to breathe.

He didn’t _want_ this. He _needed_ to get out of there.

As if sensing his despair, the alien left him alone to his thoughts.

Rookie mistake.

With shaking fingers, Dick carefully removed the necessary tools from his belt and used them to break out of the pod. Now he just needed a way out of the building.

There were a surprisingly few number of guards within his sector of the building, which only increased Dick’s already high level of anxiety.

He made it to what appeared to be a garage without incident.

He hid behind a stack of crates and pulled out his hologlove, hacking into their security systems and setting off the alarm in the opposite side of the building. The guards and reach operatives began shouting and ran in that direction.

Once they had all rushed off, Dick opened the garage doors and hotwired a motorcycle, jumping on it before making his break for freedom.

He, however, failed to notice one particular Reach scientist watching it all from the hidden cameras dotted around the building, a satisfied smirk set in place. One of his fellow co-workers entered the room, and watched the hero make his escape.

“You’re _letting_ him get away?” they asked.

The scientist nodded, “It is an imperative part of the plan. We need to monitor him, and see what happens.”


	2. Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Brief mention of Jason's death, as well as blood

A year later, in the midst of the Reach invasion, Dick still hadn’t noticed any side effects from the experiments they performed on him. There had been a few instances where lightbulbs had exploded when he was frustrated, but he didn’t think anything of it.

He hadn’t actually told anyone about his capture, having just taken a few days to recover and made up an excuse for his absence. As far as he knew, no one suspected a thing.

He thought that the Reach had been wrong; he didn’t have a metagene. Bruce had tested him thoroughly when he had first become Robin, and nothing had come up. The Reach _had_ been wrong.

If only that were true…

**…::-::...**

He had them. The Joker had kidnapped the team.

Dick had no idea _what_ had possessed him to do it. The maniac probably thought that _“they were stealing away his precious birdies”_

To Dick, at that moment, it didn’t matter. He had been in Bludhaven when it occurred, following up on another lead, when he should have been with the team. It was his fault, maybe, if he had been there, it wouldn’t have happened. So it was up to him to rescue them.

With the team captured, and half of the League off world on Rimbor, there was no one for him to contact to help him, so he went alone. He knew it was a stupid move, but he had no choice.

All that mattered was getting them back safely.

He arrived at the abandoned warehouse _(clicé much?)_ where they were being held and peered in through the skylights.

Most of the team was unconscious, save for Robin and Batgirl, who had dealt with Joker before. He grimaced at the state of the rest of the team, his anger rising.

There were smears of blood on the floor, though he couldn’t tell whose it was. Most of them were bleeding. Bart’s leg appeared to be broken, but it had healed itself at an incorrect angle, and would have to be broken again and reset. M’gann was tied-up and surrounded by a ring of fire. Conner was tied up by a set of glowing, green chains, Kryptonite, Dick realised, and made a mental note to look into Joker’s supplier later.

The Joker himself was rambling on, and Dick could vaguely hear his muttering, only having eyes for the bloodied crowbar he was twirling between his fingers. Two hours was long enough; time to get them out of there.

Silently opening the skylight, he slipped through and landed on the rafters. Quietly moving so that he was directly behind Joker, he crouched down in the shadows and waited for the best time to make his move.

It came.

The Joker seemed to have finished his monologue and began stalking forward, towards Babs, brandishing the crowbar threateningly. Fury rose in Dick’s chest and he released his grapple line, swinging down and striking Joker in the back before flipping over onto his feet. The clown stumbled forwards, but managed to maintain his balance. He turned slowly, and smiled wickedly when he recognised his assailant.

“Well, if it isn’t the _mighty_ leader, the first bird-boy. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Dick clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes.

“Let them go, Joker.”

“ _Aww_ , but we were having so much _fun_! Weren’t we, kiddies?”

He received two malicious Batglares in response.

Joker shrugged, “Well, maybe _you_ weren’t, but _I_ was.”

Joker laughed, an eerie sound that made the hairs on the back of Dick’s neck stand up.

“What do you want?”

Joker turned his attention back to Dick.

“I only want some time with the batsies, and their little friends got in the way. I was so disappointed that _you_ weren’t there too, but you’re here _now_ , so the fun can _really_ start!”

The clown rushed forwards, swinging the crowbar wildly. Dick dodged the blows, flipping over and cartwheeling to avoid them. After some time, the Joker began to tire, and Dick took the opportunity to deal some of his own blows. He punched and kicked, still managing to dodge anything that came his way. His temper was now at a _very_ short fuze. Time to get this over with.

Just as he was about to deal the knockout punch, Joker’s evil leer returned, and the clown stepped away, changing direction completely as he drew something from his jacket. Dick could only watch in horror as he brought out a gun and pointed it at his little brother’s chest. Images flashed before his eyes; Jason’s broken body as Bruce held him to his chest, and the crowbar that lay beside him.

“Why don’t we make this more fun, hmm?” Joker chuckled, his finger’s shifting on the gun, “After all, what’s _more_ fun than being _dead_?”

At that, Dick’s anger reached it’s breaking point and he snapped. It felt like a fire had been lit within him as his chest burned and his hands tingled, his vision tinted red. There was a strange buzzing that reached a crescendo as he roared, “Don’t you dare _touch_ him!”

He saw the Joker’s eyes widen in both shock and fright as he heard a whoosh behind him. The fire that had previously surrounded M’gann rushing forwards and seemed to be growing in size, heading straight for the Joker. It spun around the villain in a whirlwind, enveloping him and bringing with it a blazing heat that Dick didn’t even seem to notice. The flames parted slightly, allowing Joker to break through the wall as he ran _screaming_ into the street, his clothes and hair alight.

Once he was gone, the flames dissipated completely, and Dick suddenly felt exhausted, as if all the energy had been drained from his body. He fell to his knees, panting for breath. Babs rushed to his side, having managed to break free from her bonds, and knelt down looking over him anxiously.

“Dick? What is it? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m _fine_ , Babs,” he protested, breathlessly, “Shouldn’t _I_ be the one asking _you_ that?”

“I’m alright,” she replied, seriously, “Tim’s not so great, but the team’s worse.”

“We need to get them back to the cave,” Dick said, as he stood up.

The lights flickered out. He groaned, “Good thing for night-vision masks.”

Switching on the said masks, Dick went to help untie Tim while Babs started on the rest of the team.

Once everyone was untied and Conner’s kryptonite bindings had been safely taken care of, they came to the problem of getting everyone back to the cave.

“I brought the bioship,” Dick offered, “I knew we’d have a lot of injuries, and the Batjet’s too small to hold everyone.”

Once everyone was safely in the bioship, Dick piloted it back to the cave. There, they moved the still unconscious team members to the Medway, with the help of Red Tornado and Black Canary.

When they were securely settled, and Babs and Tim’s injuries had been seen to, they, Dick, Black Canary and Red Tornado met to discuss what had happened. They each gave their own sides of the story, but collaborated the fire incident. Black Canary seemed surprised, but they all agreed that it couldn’t have been natural. Babs managed to hack into the building’s security system, and they all watched the surveillance footage. Dick had to admit that it looked even _more_ impressive from a greater distance.

When it was finished, Tim asked, “So, what do you think we’re dealing with here? A new meta? Because, if it is, I didn’t see anyone there, and no one we know of has that kind of power.”

“I think you’re right,” Barbara said, slowly, as she studied the footage on her hologlove, “Only, you _did_ see him. I think it was _Nightwing_.”


	3. Part 2

Dick stared at her, before bursting into fits of laughter.

“Good one, BG,” he chuckled.

“I’m serious!” she protested, pulling the security footage up again, “I didn’t notice it at first, I was too caught up by the flames, but look here,” she zoomed in on the video, focusing on Dick’s hands, “Can you see that? There’s a sort of… aura around them.”

Dick stared at the image. It was _true_ , there _was_ something there.

“Dick, I need you to be honest with me,” Babs pleaded, “Is there _any_ reason you can think of for this?”

He thought for a moment, and was about to reply with a negative, when he froze, remembering his capture the year before and the words that scientist spoke to him. But, it couldn’t be _that_ , could it?

He began to panic, his heart-rate increased and his breathing quickened. He vaguely heard Barbara calling his name before his world went black.

**…::-::...**

He awoke to find himself on one of the beds in the medbay, Barbara sitting anxiously beside him. He groaned as he sat up, “Why does it feel like I’ve been hit by a bus?”

Babs snorted, “Probably because you fainted.”

“Oh, yeah,” he smiled, sheepishly.

Barbara’s expression became serious, “Dick, you nearly gave me a _heart-attack_ , so could you please explain to me the reason for your panic-attack?”

Dick sighed, “Alright.”

He got up and began to pace the room as he spoke, “You remember, last year, when I went M.I.A. for a few days?”

“Yeah? You said you were on a ‘no comms.’ stakeout.”

“Well, I wasn’t really on a stakeout. I was kidnapped by the Reach.”

“ _Dick_!” Babs exclaimed, aghast.

“I know, I know, I should have told you, but I didn’t _want_ anyone to know.”

“Why not?”

“Because they _tested_ me, Babs!”

Barbara looked taken aback.

“They tested me,” Dick continued, softly, “and then they told me that I was _lucky_ , that I _had_ a metagene, one that people would _kill_ for.”

He sat back down on the bed, feeling shaken, “I told them that I didn’t want it, but then he looked at me and told me,” he paused to steady himself, “he told me that it had already been activated.”

There was a shocked silence.

“Dick,” Barbara tried, tentatively, reaching towards him.

“ _Don’t touch me_!” he snapped, causing her to recoil in surprise, “I don’t know _what_ I could do to you.”

“You could _never_ hurt me, Dick” she said, softly, moving to sit beside him.

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do,” she replied firmly, taking his hand in hers, “because I know _you_.”

Dick broke down at that point, grasping her in a tight embrace as he sobbed. She held him, rubbing soothing circles on his back.

“What am I going to do, Babs?” he sniffed.

“I don’t know, Dick,” she replied, “But whatever happens, I’ll be right behind you, and I _know_ Tim will too.”

He laughed gratefully, “I _love_ you, Babs.”

His eyes widened and he froze as he realised what he said. Barbara was stunned for a moment before she smiled.

“I love _you_ too, Dick.”

They subconsciously leaned closer together and met, kissing softly.

Tim, who had chosen that moment to walk past the medbay window, doubled back and stared. He had _no idea_ what they’d discussed, but it must have at least had a positive outcome. Shaking his head in shock, he continued to his destination.

A few minutes later, Dick and Barbara came out holding hands. Tim chuckled quietly when he saw them. It was about time! Those two had been making lovey eyes at each other for _years_! 

Black Canary came in and chose to ignore this. Dick took a deep breath, calming himself, before explaining everything to them again, Barbara squeezing his hand for support.

Once he had finished, they stared at him in shock. Black Canary was the first to recover, "Alright, now that we know this, we should probably make a plan for moving forwards. I think the first thing would be to run some tests, to see what you are actually capable of."

Dick tensed at the mention of tests, but nodded slowly, "I think that would be best."

"Okay," she agreed, "Why don't you go home now, and we can start in the morning?"

"I can't," Dick replied firmly, "I'm waiting for the team to wake up."

"But," Dinah protested.

"No, I _have_ to."

With that, he stalked off to the medbay. Babs stayed behind to discuss details for the next day. Dinah shook her head in exasperated pride, "That's one of the reasons why he's such a natural leader."

"I know," Babs replied, smiling fondly at the place he'd left from.

Dinah smirked knowingly, "What's this I hear from our resident Boy Wonder about the two of you getting all _cosy_ in the medbay?"

Barbara blushed fiercely, " _Shut up_! He was _upset_ , and I was _comforting_ him."

Tim snorted, "Yeah, _right_."

Babs couldn't come up with an appropriate comeback, so she stayed silent.


	4. Author's note

Hey guys

Sorry I haven't updated in such a while. School's been busy at the moment. Lame excuse, I know, but it's all I've got 😅. 

Anyway, I've had an idea for this Fic, and I'm going to be reposting it in a different format. I'll let you know when I do, I just need to figure a few things out first. 

Thank you for being so patient with me. Have an asterous week! ❤️


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